The value of tiger landscapes

Protecting tiger landscapes is critical for tiger survival and retention of the economic, environmental and social value of the landscapes

There are estimated to be just 3,890 tigers left in the wild, found across 13

countries. These tigers live in a diverse set of landscapes, from rainforests to grasslands, savannahs to mangrove forests, and high elevation habitats of the Himalayas to the boreal forests of the Russian Far East. The largest tiger population is found in India, which is home to more than half of all remaining wild tigers. 12 Bangladesh, Bhutan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Russia and Thailand each host several hundred tigers, while only a few are found in China and Myanmar. Tigers are now functionally extinct in Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia. 13

Keeping tiger landscapes intact is vital for tiger survival. With home ranges reaching up to 1,000 square kilometres, it is absolutely essential that tigers have free and safe movement along large natural corridors to breed, hunt and establish their own territories. Having access to these corridors ensures genetic diversity and also provides an avenue through which tigers can respond to climatic changes, environmental shocks (such as fires, deforestation, drought and flooding) and human disturbance. 14 When landscapes are fragmented, corridors can become broken or lost entirely, and tigers are increasingly wedged into smaller areas. This can lead to inbreeding, excessive fighting for territory and associated injuries and death, and increased exposure to disease outbreaks and environmental shocks.

In addition to being crucial for tigers’ survival, tiger landscapes contribute

to economic development. Tiger landscapes attract millions of tourists each year, and the tiger-related tourism sector provides local communities with sustainable sources of income and employment. In India, for example, three million people each year participate in wildlife tours and this figure is growing annually. 15 Tiger-related tourism today is mainly concentrated in the national parks, reserves and sanctuaries of India and Nepal. Given the difficulties of finding secure employment opportunities in often remote areas, the thousands of jobs made possible by tiger-related tourism are vital for local communities. 16

The environmental benefits provided by tiger landscapes benefit millions more people through water management, protection from natural hazards,

sediment and nutrient retention, and carbon sequestration. Tiger landscapes provide water for drinking and irrigation for local and downstream communities. For example, water collected in the catchment area of the Leuser Ecosystem in Sumatra is used by at least four million people as well as for irrigating oil palm and pulpwood plantations downstream. 17 Tiger landscapes also provide local communities with protection from natural hazards, such as floods, landslides and the impacts of climate change. Vegetation in these areas helps to slow the passage of water to nearby rivers, reduces erosion, and reduces loss of nutrients and sediment. It also helps to mitigate climate change through carbon sequestration. This will also offer added economic benefits, as and when carbon

markets develop. For instance, the value of the carbon sequestered across six of India’s 50 tiger reserves is estimated to be over US$17 million per year. 18,19 Based on this data, the potential carbon sequestration value of all Indian tiger reserves is US$130 million per year. 20

Tigers are inextricably linked to the millions of indigenous people that co-exist with them and the countless people that put high cultural value on them across all tiger range

states. Indigenous people have inhabited, managed and protected tiger landscapes for generations. They depend on these areas for agriculture, non-timber forest products, fuel wood, building materials and grazing land for their livestock. For example, the Terai Arc Landscape that straddles the NepalIndia border is home to 28 million people, including eight indigenous tribes. 21 Furthermore, tigers represent strength and power in many cultures, and are ubiquitous in traditions, mythology, literature and art across tiger range countries and beyond. In some countries, tigers are considered a national animal, while in others they have contributed to their landscapes being recognized as having universal value and listed as World Heritage Sites.

Protecting tiger landscapes and keeping them intact is therefore crucial for tigers to survive and thrive, and allows for the landscapes to retain their economic, environmental and social values. However, the value of these landscapes to tigers and the broader national and global community is jeopardized by planned linear infrastructure, which would slice tiger habitats into smaller and more isolated fragments.

© S ejal Worah / WWF I ndia